For the dumplings

Parmesan is a straw-coloured hard cheese with a natural yellow rind and rich, fruity flavour. It…

50g pine nut

Method

Heat the oil in a large casserole dish. Brown the chicken until golden on all sides – you might have to do this in batches – remove the chicken from the pan as you go and set aside.

Add the lardons to the pan and sizzle for a few mins, then add the onion, celery and leeks, and cook over a medium heat for 8-10 mins until the vegetables have softened. Stir in the flour, season and cook for a further 2 mins.

Gradually stir in the wine and allow it to bubble away, then stir in the stock. Return the chicken to the pan with the bay leaves and cover with a lid. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 1½ hrs or until the chicken is tender. The stew can now be cooled and frozen if you’re making ahead. Just defrost thoroughly, then gently warm through back in the pan before continuing.

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Add the peas, sundried tomatoes, pesto and basil to the stew. To make the dumplings, rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mix in the grated cheese and add 150ml water, mixing with a cutlery knife to bring the crumbs together to form a light and sticky dough. Break off walnut-sized lumps and shape into small balls. Roll the tops of the dumplings in the pine nuts so a few stick to the outside, then place the dumplings on top of the stew and scatter with any remaining nuts. Put the dish in the oven and bake for 25 mins until the dumplings are golden brown and cooked through. Serve with mashed potato and extra veg if you like.

Delicious recipe. I used homemade pesto and didn't have any leeks so used a red and a white onion instead which worked perfectly. Served with mash potatoes, although personally I think this stew is best served with either the dumplings or potato but not both. This will become a firm favourite and would be suitable to serve at a dinner party.

Love this recipe - have made it several times now. I usually just buy a dumpling mix and that works out just fine. I have also made it into a pie filling and instead of having individual dumplings I make a dumpling "lid" instead of a pastry crust. This has been a nice variation.

Really loved it! Made it today to freeze a few portions and to eat immediately. Absolutely great combination of flavors and the dumplings are the best bit, though also the heaviest.... Enjoy (and why bother using mushrooms) :-)

Absolutely scrummy, made a change from other stew recipes and was lovely and warming on a cold night. Would agree with shaslam that the sun dried tomatoes weren't really needed, the pesto overpowered their flavour really.

Very nice recipe - easy to make and great on a cold January evening. I would probably omit the peas and replace with mushrooms next time, plus I must admit that I added a little cream before the dish went into the oven. Lovely and a hit with the family.

Simply devine recipe. I shall certainly be cooking this again. I didn't use pesto but added some torn Basil leaves. I also used DRIED sun-dried tomatoes instead of the ones in oil and the bacon was thinly sliced 'taste the difference' which I chopped and dry fried to remove the fat. All the other ingredients were as per the recipe including the pine nuts which gave a gorgeous texture.

I first made it about three weeks ago and have today posted it to facebook so others can enjoy it. I am also going to make it again today.... can't wait for dinner time!!!! Scrumptious. xxx

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